David Moye, La Mesa's wizard of weird, works the wilder side

David Moye, left, who covers weird news for the Huffington Post, at the spot in Jamul where William Proctor, right, and others with the Unarius Academy of Science believe spaceships will land. The academy's trick-out Cadillac is an East County icon.
— Howard Lipin

David Moye, left, who covers weird news for the Huffington Post, at the spot in Jamul where William Proctor, right, and others with the Unarius Academy of Science believe spaceships will land. The academy's trick-out Cadillac is an East County icon.
— Howard Lipin

Turns out she was the director of the Unarius Academy of Science. Members of the outfit, which still operates out of downtown El Cajon, believe that a band of benevolent “space brothers” will land someday on a hillside in Jamul.

There they will establish a peaceful outpost aimed at enlightening humanity.

Norman died in 1993. Unarians prefer to say she went to “a higher plane.” And the car remains an East County icon and appears each year in El Cajon’s Mother Goose Parade.

More was so taken with the Unarians when he was a teenager that he asked them to speak to his journalism class at Helix High School. He wasn’t keen on ridiculing them, at least to their face. He wanted to figure out what made them tick.

His teacher backed the guest appearance. Other times, she found Moye’s brand of humor off-putting.

“She told me, ‘You could accomplish so much if you were serious once in a while.’ ”

Moye believes today that “that’s still the worst advice I’ve ever received.” He says humor has always been a relief valve. It eases stress and helps him sort out issues.

He was hired by the HuffPost last year following a string of jobs in journalism, marketing and public relations.

From 1995 to 2007, he was an editor with Wireless Flash, a San Diego-based news agency that served up offbeat stories to the Jay Leno, Jon Stewart and other media fixtures.

He then spent several years in marketing and P.R. Looking for a unique way to pitch his services, he posted several videos on YouTube that show him offering public relations advice to hand puppets.

But it’s writing that Moye loves most. He has a talent for turning what can seem like lowly subjects into little Internet gems, chock with puns, clever turns of phrase and his goofball humor.

“He’s always been able to take the different angle,” says his brother, Stephen. “He could always find a way to make it a little more delicious.”

Earlier this month, he wrote a story about vandals who removed the head of a religious statue and replaced it with a toy gnome. The Connecticut woman who owned the statue was outraged by the misdeed.